


Five Miles

by Jetse (heikun)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hiking, Rain, Tsukishima-centric, the volleyball club tries team bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-23
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-26 18:04:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2661365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heikun/pseuds/Jetse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"For each second in between the lightning and thunder, the storm is five miles away."</p><p>Tsukishima is dragged on a Karasuno evening mountain climb.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Miles

**Author's Note:**

> 7 pages of un-beta'd Tsukki and Karasuno

* * *

**5 p.m.**

 

The third years invade his house and join forces with Akiteru to get him out of his room.

 

“We’re going mountain climbing, Tsukishima! Wear good shoes!” Suga yells, face bright and eager as he skips out to a truck that looks like it’s been to the centre of the earth and just barely made it back. He’s also ignoring the fact that Daichi is manhandling Tsukishima out of his room and down the stairs, grabbing jackets and water bottles and _hey that’s his fucking iPod_. Asahi is talking to his mum in the kitchen, whom merely smiles adoringly and says, “Kei-chan is finally doing things with his friends!” as she hands him a bento _(places it in Daichi’s pile of Tsukishima’s stuff, more like)_ and waves as Asahi helps Daichi push him into the back of the pickup truck.

 

The engine starts up with a cough and Asahi passes him a windsweeper with an apologetic smile. Daichi shouts something from the front seat, but the truck lurches forward with a sound equivalent to an atomic bomb exploding, and his voice is drowned out as they move down the road. Tsukishima shrugs the jacket on, reminded of the fact that he’s still in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms as he does up the shoelaces to a well-used pair of sneakers. He leans against the back, trying to get comfortable after seeing Asahi do the same.

 

* * *

**5:03 p.m.**

 

Turns out there’s no such thing as getting comfortable when Suga is driving.

 

* * *

**5:14 p.m.**

 

When they reach Kageyama’s house, Tsukishima has already gotten at least three mini heart attacks and various bruises everywhere. He’s too disorientated to snark at Hinata when the decoy climbs into the back with a hiking bag so big its bigger that the carrier, but by the time Kageyama hauls himself in Tsukishima had recovered enough to assume a bored expression to cover his terror at Sugawara’s driving. 

 

He’s a bit surprised when Yamaguchi climbs in also with a million-watt smile, but it doesn’t hurt that Yamaguchi would have gotten along with the other first years better than him anyway. Kageyama slumps down next to him, looking a bit like a curious parrot. Tsukishima is struck by a sudden urge to pull his stupid elementary style haircut.

 

Before the engine starts up, Tsukishima looks at Hinata and Kageyama straight in the eye and warns them.

 

“Prepare for the worst.” They stare at him in surprise before bursting out in peals of laughter and mimicking him in stupid tones. Tsukishima ignores the snorting giggles and leans back, gripping the seat as the engine roars to life.

 

* * *

**5:16 p.m.**

 

They aren’t laughing anymore. 

 

Hinata has a look on his face akin to one who has accepted death and is merely waiting for the final blow. Kageyama is desperately reciting volleyball hand gestures while his face goes as white as the milk he normally drinks. Tsukishima would snark at them if he wasn’t concentrating hard on not throwing up as the truck takes another sharp turn at top speed and he sees his life flash before his eyes. Asahi looks surprisingly okay, considering his role as the team scaredy-cat. _(Tsukishima would later find out that this calmness was due to many, many trips with Suga during the time they spent together.)_

 

Yamaguchi is surprising. He had a grin on his face as his floppy hair whipped about in the wind, and the freckled boy looked like he was enjoying the ride. Tsukishima was about to question him about this, but then Suga yells something that sounds suspiciously like “LEAN TO THE RIGHT!” as they swerved dangerously on the side of a ravine. Weighing his options, Tsukishima decides to value keeping his stomach in his body over questioning his best friend.

 

* * *

**5:28 p.m.**

 

They reach the base of a mountain. It’s not really a mountain, but more of a really large hill with something like a track for hiking. Hinata is in the bushes probably throwing up, and Daichi brings out first aid kits for them with a sympathetic and slightly scared look. Suga seems oblivious to the damage he’s done, and is looking out for something.

 

“Sugawara, what are you looking out for?” Yamaguchi, the sole survivor of Suga’s driving, asks.

 

“Tanaka and Nishinoya said they’d be coming in Saeko’s car. I offered to fetch them, but they declined for some reason,” Suga frowns a little, but shrugs it off and keeps on looking. Tsukishima bites back down the urge to say _you defy all traffic AND gravitational rules, of course they wouldn’t want to ride with you._

 

* * *

**5:31 p.m.**

 

Tanaka and Nishinoya are dropped off by a cheery Saeko. They have five luggage bags between them, but Daichi forces them to put all but the bag that actually carries things essential to hiking into the truck.

 

“Why did you bring a bubble bath machine? Did you think there was going to be a hot springs resort?”

 

“Tanaka brought that! I packed something cool and useful for us, Daichi!”

 

“You brought two bagfuls of _sporks_. And what the _fuck_ is a waterproof Furby nightlight?”

 

“Useful, right?”

 

* * *

**5:45 p.m.**

 

They finally start on the trail. In a desperate attempt to get away once he had realization that no, he wasn’t dreaming and yes, he’s about to go hiking in the evening with possibly the worst people you can get stuck on a mountain in the evening with, Tsukishima points at the sky.

 

“Looks like its going to rain.” Nishinoya nods wisely, eyes shifting around. He then tiptoes and whispers loudly into Tsukishima’s left ear.

 

“Did you know that when you see lightning and hear thunder, you can tell how far away the storm is?” He puts on a face akin to a 1960’s scholar, and motions for Hinata and Kageyama to walk closer to him as he clears his throat for a speech.

 

 

“When you se the lightning go _BLAM!_ and then thunder goes _BWOOM!_ , and when you count the time in between them, you can find out how far the storm is from you!” Nishinoya finishes with a proud face. Tsukishima just feels like he’s being asked to solve an impossible math problem. The idiot duo seems to have understood well enough, or they were just being polite out of concern for Nishinoya’s mental health. 

 

“Nishinoya is half-right,” Tanak appears next to them, shit-eating grin and all. “In between lightning and thunder, each second equals 5 miles.”

 

He wasn’t sure how Tanaka managed to be even more confusing, but it happened. Normally Tsukishima was more alert than this, but he had just been thrown out of his house, narrowly escaped death on a truck driven by who he used to think was a saint, and forced to trek with his teammates up a hill with ominous grey skies welcoming them.

 

“You’re both confusing them!” Asahi says from behind them, and the first years all turn to face him. “If you count the seconds between the time the lightning strikes and the time the thunder sounds, you get how many miles away the storm is. For every second, the storm is five miles farther away.” 

 

God bless Asahi.

 

Tsukishima vaguely remembers Akiteru telling him the same thing once, but all memories they had together were blur and broken, as if they never really existed in the first place. Beside him, Nishinoya and Tanaka were jumping around Asahi like he was a carousel. Suga and Daichi were talking animatedly behind, and the idiot duo had raced up the slope, already out of sight. Yamaguchi tugs on his sleeve with a smile, and pushes him up the slope.

 

“I’m surprised you even came, Tsukki!” The skies cloud over more.

 

“Not by choice.” Yamaguchi laughs a little, and keeps up with Tsukishima’s long, quick strides easily, having done it for years now.

 

“You’ll enjoy yourself, don’t worry. It’ll be fun for our team!” Tsukishima really can’t remember how and why he got a friend like Yamaguchi, but he feels grateful even if he doesn’t show it.

 

* * *

**5:52 p.m.**

 

He’s alone. Yamaguchi stopped to look off track, Asahi and the second years are nowhere in sight, Suga and Daichi were way ahead, And the freak quick duo were probably collapsed somewhere alone. He looks at the watch Daichi had slapped on his wrist from the pile of things taken from his house, and for once, thanks everything that it has a GPS and compass installed in it.

 

* * *

**6:30 p.m.**

 

He meets up with Suga and Daichi. Or rather, he sees them a little way off the trail talking quietly and decides to hide until they go farther so he can walk without being noticed.

 

* * *

**6:32 p.m.**

 

He was noticed.

 

Suga calls him over and Daichi smiles at him. Tsukishima can’t help but feel like the child of two parents with extremely high expectations.

 

“Are you enjoying yourself?” Suga’s voice is soft but not meek.

 

“Possibly.” He’s not happy about this in the least, but he had appreciated the quietness of the trail during dusk. The sun was covered by rainclouds and everything was darker than it should have been because of that. Tsukishima walks along the captain and vice-captain in relative silence, save for the crunching of leaves under their feet and short pants of breath from the trek up.

 

A flash tears the sky in two.

 

Tsukishima starts, a little shocked by the sudden light, and stops alongside Daichi and Suga. He sees Suga’s mouth moving, but no sound is coming out. a while after, a quiet rumble of thunder is heard and Suga straightens up with a smile.

 

“thirteen seconds. We have time before the storm comes right above us,” He nods to Daichi and Tsukishima. 

 

“Sorry, what?” He recalls the conversation with Tanaka, Nishinoya and Asahi, “You mean the storm is 65 miles away?”

 

Suga nods affirmatively. Daichi checks his watch, adjusts his bag so that the weight is even, and turns to Suga.

 

“We should head back in about ten minutes. Tsukishima, can you tell the others?” Tsukishima blinks, unsure how to respond as he wasn’t up for the idea of having to find them all, but also wasn’t up for opposing Daichi. A glance at his captain’s face makes his decision for him.

 

“Sure.”

 

* * *

**7:02 p.m.**

* * *

 

 

He collapses against the side of the truck, having had to look individually for Nishinoya, Asahi, and Tanaka and then lead them back when they thought they were lost. Yamaguchi had made his way back already, so that was one less person he had to look for. The trio were now in the back, eating meat buns and drinking lukewarm chocolate. Nishinoya was trying to fit three meat buns in his mouth. Suga and Daichi were in the front, talking about game plans and how excursions like this could be good for the team bonding and endurance. Tsukishima sluggishly moves himself up to go back onto the trail to fetch Hinata and Kageyama. Yamaguchi helpfully tosses him a flashlight as he made to go back into the track.

 

With a muttered _thanks_ , Tsukishima walks back into the forest to find the two of them.

 

**7:24 p.m.**

 

After passing the same rock-tree combo for the third time, Tsukishima realized he was going in circles. Changing his path to move in a different direction, he moves away from what he thought to be the track. However, the forest is getting dark fast, and he doesn’t want to use the flashlight just yet.

 

Stumbling across a root and going into a clump where the bushes are thicker, Tsukishima crouches down and calls out _Kageyama. Hinata_ slowly. When he gets no response, he sighs and wrestles his way out of the tangled branches.

 

The sky lights up. Unconsciously, he starts counting.

 

_.....25 .....30 .....35 ....._

 

The clap of thunder is significantly louder. Tsukishima stands up, feeling a bit disorientated. 

 

_35 miles away._

 

Shaking his head to clear it, Tsukishima walks deeper into the forest.

 

* * *

**7:56 p.m.**

 

It’s almost all dark. He can’t see anything other than trees, dirt, and more trees. Having to switch on his flashlight ten minutes ago only made the forest look even more eerie. Tsukishima takes a deep breath and calls out to the two of them, hoping that he would find them soon.

 

“Kageyama, Hinata! Come on, we have to go back now!” His voice is hoarse from the constant yelling, but it’s no use. Defeated, he reaches in his back pocket for his phone, only to find it empty. Tsukishima vaguely remembers Nishinoya taking all their phones so that _It’d be a fun back-to-nature thing then!_. The blond blocker groans loudly, and collapses against a tree for a while.

 

In the distance, the sky is cut in half by electric lines. 

 

_15 .....20..... 25 ....._

 

The storm is near him now, and he can already feel rain drizzling down. Tsukishima forces himself to feet, determined to find Kageyama and Hinata before the rain came down heavily.

 

* * *

**8:30 p.m.**

 

It’s raining so hard, Tsukishima can even see three feet in front of him. He’s forced to constantly look at the ground and he moves shakily as so not to slip, and his voice is almost gone from screaming over the hoarse wind. Thinking back, he should’ve tried to retrace his steps when the first signs of rain came and went back for help, but past him was an idiot.

 

He trips over a root and falls face first into some bushes. His ankle lets out a searing throb and he screams in pain. After a few minutes of just sitting there with a foot that definitely _does not work_ , he gives up. Defeated, Tsukishima lets gravity work it’s magic and drop him on the muddy ground, between bushes. The flashlight is already flickering out, and trying to check his watch is no use when he can’t even see his own fingers. Turning off the light for now, Tsukishima curls up into a ball, soaked and cold and so empty, as if the trip had drained him of his ability to feel any better.

 

He sees the lightning and wonders if he’ll get electrocuted in the rain like this.

 

_5 .....10 ..... 15 ....._

 

His hands are over his ears by the time the thunder booms, but it doesn’t work. Tsukishima tries to fold into himself, and blames the rain for making him emotionally unstable and scared, so scared of everything now in the dark like this.

 

He hopes that Kageyama and Hinata made it back safely.

 

 

* * *

**9:02 p.m.**

 

The wind howls around him like a beast, and the rain falls in sheets that beat him down. Tsukishima’s cold and shivering and soaked, and he feels sick and empty and so _broken_ , all because of some storm. The flashlight no longer even turns on, and his glasses make his vision blur with raindrops. There are wet streams down his cheek, and he knows they aren’t from the sky. It’s so scary, being like this, that he doesn’t even feel disgusted that he’s on muddy ground in bushes. 

 

It’s so scary being abandoned. 

 

He’s remembering all sorts of things, events, times he was let down and left alone, times so insignificant but it’s all coming back to him now, in the unrelenting cold and dark storm. 

 

He wants to die.

 

The thought that he really might die out had been scary enough to keep him awake, but now he just couldn’t find the strength anymore. It could be anytime in the night, maybe even morning, but Tsukishima didn’t know or care. He closed his eyes, just seeing a flash before he falls into sleep.

 

_5 ..... 10 ....._

 

_Boom. Good night, Kei._

 

* * *

**11:47 p.m.**

 

“-hima. Tsukishima! Wake up, Oi!” He’s shaken and slapped awake by someone, who is yelling over the still pouring rain. Blearily he looks up, and a shock of orange shines a flashlight in his face. 

 

“Hinata?”  
  
“Yep! We gotta get you back now, Tsukishima, it’s raining really hard. Daichi and Suga told us that you went to look for us without your phone! But we used it to track your location with the watch, thank god.” Kageyama pops into view too, and mutters something that sounds like _We were all worried, dumbass_ but Tsukishima can’t bring himself to care, because he wasn’t abandoned, they were looking for him, he’s saved.

 

Before he knows it, Tsukishima is clinging on to both Hinata and Kageyama, crying and shivering. The two stiffen at first but then hold him silently, understanding that he needs this.

 

* * *

**12 a.m.**

 

Tsukishima allows Kageyama to support him as Hinata leads the way back, exhausted and no longer that empty. As they make their way slowly down the trail, Tsukishima sees the sky light up.

 

As if in slow motion, the droplets pause, suspended in time as the light and sound both explode at the same time, one on top of the other.

 

_less than a second._

 

_The storm’s right above us, but I survived._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i love the rain and i heard of this way to count how far away the storm is from my stepbro, so i wrote a lil thing for it.
> 
> EDIT: SO I FORGOT YAMAGUCHI EVEN THOUGH HE'S ONE OF MY BABIES OH NO IM SO SORRY YAMAGUCHI ILY PL EASE //also i just read ch 136 and im still screaming


End file.
